Choose Your Words Carefully
by rebornhoneybee
Summary: AU One-Shot. High School. Destiel. Rating for language. Summary: On everyone's 18th birthday, they are given the first words their soul mate will say to them. Dean never saw this coming.


**This started as a writing prompt from my friend, Catie. Welcome to a world where, on your 18** **th** **birthday, you are given the first words your soul mate will say to you. Your card reads "Welcome to Starbucks. May I take your order?"**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural, but adore those guys for all the good they put out into the universe. Also, this was intended to be a one-shot, but I am not opposed to creating a full length story for it. Just let me know your thoughts.**

 _ **Update 9/12: Thank you for your comments. I've fixed the "May I" vs. "Can I" typo. You guys rock. I'm considering going full length, but would need a plot line, so if you have ideas, feel free to share.**_

oooOOOooo

Dean leaned back against the pale, concrete wall outside of his guidance counselor's office. He closed his eyes and tucked a pale yellow envelope into the inside pocket of his leather jacket. A quiet hiss slipped through his teeth as he ran his right hand through his short, blonde hair in frustration. _Son of a bitch…It's the 24_ _th_ _already. You'd think I'd be more excited about it. God knows that Sammy's been counting down to this day for weeks now. Not me. It's shitty timing. I've still got time left on my senior year and don't need some fucking Cupid trying to force me into a life that I don't even know if I want yet. At least they pulled me into the office to give it to me. No witnesses. I just need to stash this until I get home and figure out if I even want to know what it says._

A thick Cajun accent pulled the green-eyed teen from his thoughts and back into the now filling hallway of Lawrence High School. "You gonna open that, brother?"

"Nah. You know me, Benny. I like to make my own destiny. I don't need some spirit in the sky to tell me who my soulmate is…Besides, there's two lovely ladies who'd be disappointed if we cancelled over me getting this today." His eyes narrowed briefly as he spoke to his best friend under his breath. "So, what do you say let's just keep it being my birthday on the quiet side, alright? No need to generate questions that I don't plan on answering."

Benny's eyes twinkled as he chuckled. "Always thinking ahead. I can appreciate that."

The envelope poked at the back of his mind like a hot iron from where he'd tucked it in his jacket pocket. Today may be his 18th birthday, but Dean Winchester wasn't going to let that stop him. Reality could settle in tomorrow…maybe after a hangover. "Yeah, yeah. You know me…always thinking. Come on, man. I've gotta pick up Sammy and get him to the library for his study session with Jess before we can head out."

oooOOOooo

He never understood how the line at a coffee shop could be so long at night. Honestly, he still wasn't sure that being here was the best idea. Something about it made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. "I still don't see why we had to come here. Pizza Hut is literally down the street."

"You know as well as I do that ya don't exactly win over ladies with pizza on a study date."

"Since when have the words study and date ever gone together in our books?"

"Look, it's a new place. Ladies flock to it like bugs to a light. Just trust me on this…let's call it an investment, eh brother?"

His eyes flitted over to the perky blonde and her auburn haired friend back at their table. He lifted his chin, smile and shot a wink their way before turning back to his friend. "Alright, but I call the red head. What was that thing she wanted again?"

"I dunno how you'd survive without me," Benny laughed. "Anna wanted a chai latte. It's basically hot black tea with milk."

The puzzled look that crossed his face was priceless. "Whatever happened to just black coffee?"

Benny shrugged nonchalantly before smiling at the blonde he left at their table. "Jo says it got yuppied, but her friend likes it, so we're here."

"I'll say. Her face is worth it…Looks like the rest of her might be, too."

A gravelly voice stopped Dean in place like a bolt of lightning zipping through his veins. "Welcome to Starbucks. May I take your order?"

 _What the hell was that? Did Benny just shock me?_ He glanced behind him at Benny who rolled his eyes and shooed him forward. "Uh, yeah. I need a medium chai latte and uh…Look, do you guys just have regular coffee?"

The barista glanced up and Dean was met with the brightest blue eyes he'd ever seen. The young man's blackish-brown hair hung slightly in his eyes and a hint of dark stubble covered his jaw. His full lips curled into an amused half-smile. "Sure. Black?"

He couldn't help but to return the smile warmly. _This guy gets it._ "Yeah."

The barista snagged two grande cups and jotted down the orders before looking up expectantly. "Ok. I have a medium chai latte and a medium Americano for…" His eyebrows rose slightly as he cocked his head with a smile.

"Dean."

His blue eyes sparkled as they met Dean's. "Winchester, right?" His smile widened when Dean nodded. "I thought so. I'm Castiel. We have American History together…Oh. That'll be $5.50."

He nodded as Castiel handed him his change. "Yeah, I think we do." Dean jumped as their hands connected. A quick glance told him that the young man before him had felt it, too. _Fucking static…I'm gonna knock the damn smile off Benny's face if he doesn't stop snickering._ "Sorry about that. Been having that problem all day." He flashed a million dollar smile as his elbow connected with Benny behind him. "I guess I'll see you later, Cas."

oooOOOooo

Dean's body sank readily into his mattress. It was nearly 11pm before he convinced Sam to go to bed and stop ragging him about the card. He'd promised they'd look at it tomorrow, which finally got his little brother to agree to sleep. _Who knew? Maybe it would be something obvious like, "Hi, my name is Anna."_ He snorted and shook his head. Winchesters usually weren't that lucky. It's why he'd adopted the idea of being in control of his own destiny; he wanted to change his stars to make a better life for him and his little brother. Lord knows anything was better than living in motels like they'd done when they were kids. At least their dad finally had a stable job at a local garage.

He raised an arm over his head to cover his eyes and realized he still had on his jacket. "Son of a bitch…" Begrudgingly, he sat up and peeled off his jacket, boots, and pants before crawling back into bed. A soft rustle caught his attention as he started to lie down. The yellow envelope had fallen from his jacket onto the floor. "Oh, so now you wanna rush me, too, huh?" He sighed briefly. _I guess I should get this over with. Probably better off trying to read it now than for the first time with Sammy tomorrow._ He snagged a pocket knife out of his discarded jeans and cut open the envelope. He exhaled softly as he pulled out the card. "Well, here goes nothing." He opened the card and instantly his eyes widened. "Son of a bitch…Cas?"

In fine script, the card before him read "Dean Winchester, the first words your soulmate will say to you are: 'Welcome to Starbucks. May I take your order?'"


End file.
